No significant association between cardiovascular disease and HI was found.

Objective. To study the impact of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) on hearing deterioration among ageing adults in a longitudinal setting. Furthermore, to describe the pure tone threshold changes at the 0.125-8 kHz frequency range over 13 years.Design. A population-based follow-up study.Study sample. A random sample of 850 adults, of whom 559 participated in the follow-up study. Otological examination, a structured interview and pure tone audiometry were conducted. Multivariate regression models were used to estimate the effect of CVD (participants had at least one cardiovascular condition) on hearing deterioration of the better ear hearing level (BEHL), defined as a change in the pure-tone average (PTA) of the frequencies 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz and separately at the lower (0.125, 0.25 and 0.5 kHz) and higher (4, 6 and 8 kHz) frequencies.Results. In the multivariable adjusted analysis, the BEHL change at 13 years was 0.7 dB greater among participants with CVD (p=0.3). The mean BEHL change during the 13-year follow-up was 12.0 dB (95% CI 11.4-12.6) among all participants.Conclusions. No significant association between CVD and hearing threshold changes was found.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and incidence of hearing impairment (HI) in a longitudinal setting among adults. Design: An unscreened, population-based epidemiological 13-year follow-up study. Study sample: 850 randomly sampled 54 to 66-year-old baseline participants, of whom 559 participated in the follow-up study at the age of 68 to 79 years. A questionnaire-based interview, an otological examination and pure-tone audiometry were performed. Results: The overall prevalence of HI was 70.3%, defined by better ear hearing level (BEHL) ≥20 dB in the 0.5-4 kHz frequency range. The prevalence was higher among men (78.6%) than among women (63.7%). The overall incidence rate for HI was 45.8 per 1000 person years and the 13-year cumulative incidence was 60.9%. The incidence was higher among men and older participants. Conclusion: HI is highly prevalent and incident among older adults in Northern Finland.